Chapter 12 – One Year Left
The night was quiet when Yuva approached his father after dinner, his sword resting against the wall and the hum of chakra still faintly buzzing in his veins.
"Father," he asked, his voice calm but heavy with purpose, "will we… go to war now?"
Hari looked at his eldest son for a long moment before answering. "No. Not yet."
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🕰️ One Year Left
"The Third Great Ninja War hasn't fully started," Hari explained. "Right now, the great villages are testing each other — border clashes, spy missions, small assassinations. But the real war hasn't begun."
He placed a hand on Yuva's shoulder. "No village is foolish enough to throw newly graduated genin into the front lines before the war even starts. You still have time — one full year."
"One year…" Yuva repeated softly.
"One year," Hari said firmly, "to become stronger than anyone expects. When the war reaches its peak, you'll be ready. That's my promise."
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⚡ Speed of Chūnin, Strength of Genin
The next morning, Hari assembled the three brothers in the training ground. "Show me your Body Flicker."
They nodded and vanished, their figures flickering around the field in blurs of motion. Hari watched closely, tracking their speed and precision. When they stopped, he smiled faintly.
"In terms of speed," he said, "you're already at chūnin level. But speed alone won't save you in war. What you lack is experience — and we'll fix that too."
He crossed his arms. "Before anything else, you three will take on a D-rank mission. But before that… I'm going to push your training even harder."
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🌀 The Next Step – New Jutsu Training
Hari made a single hand seal, and two shadow clones appeared beside him.
"These two will train Tenzo and Daichi separately. I'll work with Yuva myself."
He turned to his eldest son. "Yuva, your first affinity is lightning — same as mine. I'm going to teach you a C-rank jutsu: Lightning Ball Jutsu (Raiton: Denkūkyū no Jutsu). You condense chakra into a ball of lightning and launch it at the enemy. It's powerful, fast, and useful at almost any range."
Lightning crackled in his palm as he formed a sphere the size of a melon and hurled it forward. The ball exploded against a boulder, leaving a smoking crater.
"Your control will decide its size and speed," Hari said. "Start small and build up."
He then turned to Daichi. "You're going to learn Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu (Doton: Doryūheki). It's a defensive jutsu that can block elemental attacks and buy you time in battle. In war, defense is just as important as offense."
A wall of solid earth erupted before them with a single set of hand signs. "Focus on molding earth chakra and shaping it quickly. Don't worry about size yet."
Finally, he faced Tenzo. "And you — your next step is Wind Style: Wind Bullet Jutsu (Fūton: Kaze Tama no Jutsu). It's a projectile jutsu that uses compressed air to strike and knock back enemies. It's not flashy, but it's extremely versatile."
A swirling orb of wind shot from Hari's mouth, smashing into a tree and splitting it apart.
"I've written notes for each of you," Hari said, handing scrolls to them. "Study them if you get stuck."
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🛌 A Father's Faith
Hari stretched his arms and sighed. "I have confidence in you three. You've already surpassed what I expected at your age. Just remember — train hard, but don't push yourselves into injury."
He waved as he headed back toward the house. "I'll be resting for a while. Don't slack off. Bye."
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📆 One Week Later – Results of Relentless Training
The week that followed was brutal.
Yuva spent hours each day forming and refining his Lightning Ball Jutsu. At first, the sphere was unstable, exploding in his hands or scattering before impact. But by the end of the week, he could form a compact, stable ball and launch it across the field, blasting holes through thick logs.
Daichi struggled with Mud Wall at first — his walls were thin and crumbled easily. But by the seventh day, he could raise a sturdy wall as tall as himself in seconds. It wasn't perfect yet, but it was strong enough to block most E-rank jutsu.
Tenzo's Wind Bullet training was a battle of precision. Too much chakra and it scattered into harmless air; too little and it fizzled before launch. But after days of relentless practice, his bullets slammed into targets with explosive force, easily knocking over large logs.
Their Body Flicker training also continued alongside. What once felt difficult was now second nature — they could vanish and reappear around the field without thought. Yuva even experimented with tiny traces of nature energy during flicker bursts, but still limited himself to avoid stone transformation.
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⚔️ Stronger Every Day
By the end of that week, they stood together in the training field, sweat-soaked and breathing hard but smiling proudly.
Yuva launched a crackling Lightning Ball that exploded against a training dummy, leaving nothing but smoke and splinters.
Tenzo fired a compressed Wind Bullet that tore through two wooden logs in a row.
Daichi raised a Mud Wall just in time to block the blast and watched it hold firm.
The ground bore the scars of their growth. Craters pocked the earth, shattered trees lay scattered, and scorch marks lined the training field.
Hari watched them from the porch, silent but deeply proud. They're growing faster than even I expected.
He closed his eyes. "One year," he whispered to himself. "One year, and they'll be ready."
And in the distance, the winds of war began to stir.